Ceadeus
Ceadeus is an extremely large, whale-like elder dragon that first appeared in Monster Hunter 3. It resides in a series of underwater canyons and ruins deep below Moga Island, but is unable to travel onto land. Ceadeus is the end-game boss in the offline campaign. Ecology Taxonomy *'Order:' Unknown *'Suborder:' Depth Dragon *'Family:' Ceadeus. The name ceadeus may be derived from Cetacea, the order of the animal kingdom that includes whales. This can be seen as a reference to ceadeus' whale-like appearance. ceadeus can also be taken as seadeus, or "sea god". Its head looks relatively similar to the long-extinct Dunkleosteus. It may also refer to Cetus, a sea monster from Greek mythology. It can also come from the Latin word caelem, meaning heaven, and deus, meaning god, thus being a heavengod. Or from the Latin word caedes, meaning bloodbath. Or, quite possibly, it was chosen to mean some, or all of these things. Habitat Range It is speculated that due to the ceadeus' age and its rarity that these creatures generally live in deep caverns or fissures. Its size would vastly limit its ability to travel along rivers or in shallow waters. ceadeus is the only large monster in the series that is fully aquatic, unlike lagiacrus and other leviathans, it has no way of exiting the water and spends its entire life in the depths of the ocean. Ecological Niche Although Ceadeus has never been known to interact with other species save for select humans and the shakalakas, Cha-Cha and Kayamba, there appears to be at least one other species that could inhabit the same area with the ceadeus (aside from its variant, which may, in fact, be simply an older specimen) the abyssal lagiacrus. Judging by their jaws, ceadeus are carnivorous and feed in the deep ocean depths where favored prey may thrive. It probably prefers to stay away from the abyssal lagiacrus, however, due to its extremely powerful Thunder-based attacks, which could possibly kill a juvenile ceadeus. It is unknown what problems may arise if a ceadeus were to encounter its goldbeard variant. Behavior The ceadeus is known to be a rather peaceful creature until provoked. They do not bother humankind unless they feel threatened. The ruins of the Moga Island Civilization which the ceadeus lives in seems to be the very place where the ceadeus was born hundreds of years ago, hinting that young ceadeus may be territorial. It is likely that young ceadeus will invade any kind of underwater caves for protection if needed, and found the Moga civilization to be an adequate habitat. Interestingly, there are also ruins on land on the island, which are in perfect position to be very close to the Underwater Ruins. The Moga Quakes that had recently restarted after many successful decades were likely caused because the ceadeus's horn needed to be filed down, because the stress caused by the new civilization caused the horns to grow, thus causing the earthquakes. Biological Adaptations The Ceadeus seems to have adapted to its environment remarkably well. Its strong tail and fins enable it to travel very rapidly for its size when called for. Additionally, the bioluminescent organs located in the ceadeus' body could possibly be used to attract prey or ward off threats. As a side note, the light emitted from the organs as the ceadeus prepares for a water blast greatly resembles a god of possible Viking or Norse origin, as the horns resemble the commonly assumed (though disproved) trademark helms of Norse mythology. Note also that when the hunter first attacks the ceadeus, it appears not to notice. This may be due to its hide being incredibly tough, it seems to only take action when sufficiently damaged. The light created by ceadeus is from many bioluminecent bacteria. The secret to how ceadeus stays underwater so long is in its beard, in its beard is a unique species of algae that feed from the carbon dioxide made by ceadeus and in return give the ceadeus a supply of oxygen. Using this process ceadeus can grow enough algae to last certain amount of time under water. The ceadeus' horns constantly grow, and thus they are forced to scrape them across rough, jagged surfaces to file them down to manageable size over time. The ceadeus that was terrorizing Moga may have been an adolescent going through a spur of growth and, unable to find a suitable surface to file, attempted to use the ocean floor and smooth cavern walls in a desperate attempt to shorten it's quickly growing horn. Little is known about the ceadeus' sexual and territorial behavior; sightings have been rare, let alone decent studies. It is most likely that their territories and traveling areas are so big, that they will most likely spend years or even decades without seeing another of their kind. The Goldbeard Ceadeus is most likely an older Ceadeus which failed to keep the growth of his horns in check. It is interesting to note that both horns have grown over its eyes, leaving it blind. It is still able to coordinate very well, so it possibly caries an extra organ to make up for its loss of sight. Maybe it carries an organ similar to some sharks; it uses weak electric currents in the ocean to track down prey. It is also possible that it uses sonar like dolphins. Whatever it is, the eyes of the Ceadeus seem to be vestigial, and while they still have some function, they are not necessary for survival, similar to the human tailbone. Battle The battle is separated into two parts: the pursuit of and the final battle with ceadeus. At the beginning of the quest, a short scene details the monster swimming just outside the hunter's camp before diving down into the cave networks. What the hunter must then do is pursue ceadeus on its journey and battle it along the way. ceadeus swims through two areas; the first being a slim canyon, and the second being a canyon opening into a small cylindrical area before tapering off again. Unless angered, its attacks are not aimed primarily at the hunter, as they are mainly flicks of the tail and quick turns. However, it may occasionally attack hunters deliberately in the first two areas, even when not enraged. If Ceadeus' beard is broken, it will begin to swim faster through the first two areas. At the end of the second area, ceadeus will attack and destroy the rubble blocking the way to its final destination. Upon following ceadeus through the aquatic canyons the hunter reaches the third and final area. (Note: Within the first two areas in which you follow Ceadeus the only parts that can be broken are its beard, hood, and tail. Its horns can only be broken in the final stage of the battle.) The final area resembles an underwater arena, with Ceadeus taking up position in the center. A short scene then shows Ceadeus' chest and chin taking on a blue hue, which then turns red as it becomes enraged. At this point Ceadeus attacks more fiercely, ranging from basic Leviathan attacks to its signature move Current Storm in which it sucks in an incredible amount of water and expels it at the hunter. In this area there are also small caverns to hide in for temporary safety. Cha-Cha disappearing upon the completion of Lagiacrus' offline Urgent Quest is due to his discovery of Ceadeus deep beneath Moga Village. While absent, he is attacked by it and barely manages to escape. Once Ceadeus has been driven to the final area and repelled, it will spawn there each time the quest is re-taken, until slain. During the final stage of the battle, you can load and fire two underwater ballistas very similar to the ones used against the Elder Dragon Jhen Mohran. Ammo for them can be obtained by trading with the Argosy Captain, prior to defeating Ceadeus for the first time. Alternatively, it can be collected near both ballistas. Notes *Ceadeus' right horn is much thicker than its left and halfway envelops its right eye. It can be broken off and carved twice. Its neck resembles Lagiacrus' hood-like structure, but with a large fur coat underneath. *Ceadeus is the only offline monster players fight (in Monster Hunter Tri) that is able to inflict Dragonblight, a status effect that decreases affinity for a fixed amount of time before disappearing. Other monsters capable of inflicting this ailment include Deviljho and Alatreon, along with Stygian Zinogre in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and it is unique to monsters with the dragon element. References Category:Monster Hunter Universe Category:Fictional Creatures Category:DD Category:Non-sapient Beings Category:Carnivores Category:Fauna Category:Dragons Category:Aquatic Lifeforms Category:Video Game Creatures Category:Low Category:Eastern Dragons Category:Flying Creatures Category:Reptiles Category:Characters Debuting in 2009